OMB set to release architecture models

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The Office of Management and Budget soon will release the Federal Enterprise Architecture Business Reference Model 2.0 as well as the first version of the Performance Reference Model for use during the fiscal 2005 budget cycle.

Close on their heels will come the Service Component and Technical reference models, said Norman Lorentz, OMB's chief technology officer. He spoke this month at a Washington conference sponsored by SAS Institute Inc. of Cary, N.C.

The Data Reference Model will come out in midsummer, Lorentz said. All the models will be posted on the Federal Enterprise Architecture Program Management Office's Web site, at feapmo.gov.The latest Business Reference Model separates service delivery modes from the services themselves. The separation will help federal agencies integrate citizen-centric services with those offered by state and local governments, Lorentz said.

Business leadership

Right now, agencies' CTOs own the enterprise architecture effort, but 'that's a Klingon cloaking device,' Lorentz said. The effort, he said, is really about business leadership by managers.

OMB also plans to launch a secure portal to help agencies develop systems plans compatible with the overall architecture.

Finally, a Federal Enterprise Architecture Management System, or FEAMS, will help agencies draft business cases for their systems, known as Exhibit 300s, Lorentz said. He called FEAMS a tool for what-if scenarios 'so we can have completed 300s before rather than after the budget cycle,' he said.

OMB often asks agencies to supply additional details after it draws up the president's budget proposal for submission to Congress.

Once all five reference models are in place, OMB will establish a cycle of regular revisions.